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THE HOENEEO OVEX-BIUD. 



TEE FURNARIN-E OR OVEN-BIRDS. 



This group of small birds is very generally distributed over the continent of South America, 

 and some species occur in the West Indian Islands. Their food consists principally of insects, 

 which they take both upon trees and bushes, and on the ground, where they run and walk with 

 great ease. They also occasionally feed on seeds. The species of the genus Cinclodes, inhabiting 

 the Avest coast of South America, frequent the sea-shore, where they feed partly on small crabs 

 and moUusca. Mr. Darwin says they are sometimes seen on the floating leaves of the Fnctis f/i- 

 ffanieus, at some distance from the shore. A species of this genus, found in the Malouine Islands, 

 described by Lesson under the name of Furnarius ful/;/inosus, is said to be so tame that it may 

 be almost touched by the hand ; and Pernetty, a French voyager, states that it will almost come 

 and perch upon the finger. He adds, that in less than half an hour he killed ten of them with 

 a little stick, and almost without changing his position. This species is five and a half inches 

 long, and of a brown color, with yellow and brown stripes on the neck. 



The HoRNERO Oven-Bird of Buenos Ayres, F, rufus of Vieillot, Merojjs rufus of Gmelin, 

 which is typical of the true Oven-Birds, is six to seven inches long, of a bright russet color, and 

 builds a very remarkable nest. This is constructed of clay, straw, and dried herbage of different 

 kinds, in the form of an oven, about ten or twelve inches in diameter, and with walls about an 

 inch thick. The entrance is placed on one side, and the interior is divided into two chambers 

 by a partition, the eggs being laid in the inner one. This curious nest is usually placed in a 

 very exposed situation, as, for instance, on the branch of a tree or the top of a paling. In the 

 construction of it, both the male and female labor in concert, each bringing a pellet of earth of 

 the size of a walnut, and depositing it in its place. Such is the energy of these little architects, 

 that the nest is often built in two days. This bird is said to be an object of veneration with the 

 inhabitants of La Plata. 



The Brown Ovex-Bird resembles the preceding. 



